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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24586486">A Rose with Attitude</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadassBurgess/pseuds/BadassBurgess'>BadassBurgess</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Attitude Era (Professional Wrestling), Drama, F/M, Love, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:55:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,299</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24586486</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadassBurgess/pseuds/BadassBurgess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The date is September 20, 1999. Amanda McMahon, née Rose, is about to make her debut on Monday Night Raw.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>
    <em>September 20, 1999</em>
  </span>
</p><p>For the first time, Amanda McMahon, née Rose, was going to appear on WWF programming. Acting was not going to be a problem to her, for that was her profession, but performing live in front of a sold out crowd of over eighteen thousand wrestling fans would be a first, and it was causing her to feel substantially nervous.</p><p>"Excited, Mandy?" Shane McMahon, her husband, asked her.</p><p>They were travelling across the city of Houston in a limousine, heading from the airport to the arena where Monday Night Raw would be taking place. Not far ahead of them, there was another limo carrying Vince and Stephanie McMahon. The four of them had flown down from New York together in the WWF private jet.</p><p>"Yes, and nervous," Mandy said. "I know we've talked about and planned my TV debut. It just all feels real now, you know? I'm actually going to be on Raw."</p><p>"Yes you are," Shane said proudly.</p><p>He was the one who had pushed for his wife to be added to the company's cast of characters. After some persuasion, Vince had agreed. Mandy would be playing herself, with the kayfabe role of one of the owners of the World Wrestling Federation. In truth, she owned no part of the company, but that didn't matter as far as the show was concerned.</p><p>"You'll be fine, honey," Shane said. "Nerves are inevitable today, ahead of your first time going out there on TV. But you'll smash it. Trust me, tonight you'll be telling me you can't wait for the Smackdown taping tomorrow night. It'll help that the McMahon family are babyfaces right now, for the first time ever."</p><p>"That's true, at least the fans won't be wanting to eat me alive," Mandy said with a smile. After being married to Shane for two years, and consequently spending a lot of time hearing and talking about the wrestling business, terms like babyface were familiar to her. It was definitely better to be cheered on her debut as it would grant her more leeway if she struggled a bit under the pressure, she realised. It didn't particularly help that she didn't know what exactly her part on the show was going to be. Apparently the exact format of each show wasn't approved by Vince until a matter of hours beforehand.</p><p>"It's still funny to me that dad's the WWF Champion," Shane chuckled. "As if his return last Monday night wasn't enough of a surprise, I'm sure no one saw that swerve coming."</p><p>"Right?" Mandy smiled. "Hearing the ring announcer announce him as the World Wrestling Federation Champion made me laugh. It'll be interesting to see what happens from here."</p><p>Looking out of the window, Shane spotted the arena. "We're here," he announced.</p><p>While appearing on WWF programming was going to be new to Mandy, attending events was not, meaning that the wrestlers knew who she was, at least to the extent where greetings and pleasantries could be exchanged. The fans also knew who Amanda McMahon was. At least, the more knowledgeable ones did, thanks to things like public appearances where she and Shane had been photographed. Any viewers who were not familiar with Vince's heir's wife would not remain so for long, as Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler would quickly clue them in when she made her entrance.</p><p>The limo soon pulled into the arena's parking garage and parked up. After a moment, the driver opened the door on Mandy's side, while Shane got out of his side.</p><p>"Thank you," Mandy said after getting out. She straightened her black suit jacket, wishing she had taken it off before getting in. The last thing she wanted was for it to look creased when she went out on Raw.</p><p>"Right, let's find where they've put us," Shane said.</p><p>Since they were not part of the active roster, and therefore didn't belong in the locker rooms, and since Vince's office was exceptionally busy at TV events, Shane, Stephanie, and now Mandy were given a room of their own. Based on past experience, Mandy expected it to consist of a couple of couches, a table, a TV for watching the show, and some fine food from the catering company. There would also be a changing area, bathroom, and shower attached.</p><p>Vince's limo was parked nearby. Unsurprisingly, he hadn't waited for the rest of his family to arrive. There was much work for him to get done.</p><p>Proceeding into the building, one of the first people Mandy and Shane encountered was the legendary Stone Cold Steve Austin. On-screen he was a foul-mouthed, beer swilling, violent redneck. But in reality, Mandy had found him to be very polite on the couple of occasions they had previously spoken.</p><p>"Hey! How are you?" Shane asked Austin, one of the WWF's biggest stars, so big that he was a household name around the world. That was the power of the family business that Mandy had married into. Soon she would be being beamed live into millions of households herself.</p><p>The two men shook hands, with a loud clap as their hands met.</p><p>"Doing pretty good," Steve said pleasantly before looking at Mandy. "Mrs McMahon, it's good to see you."</p><p>Being addressed formally as Mrs McMahon made Mandy a little uncomfortable, but it was a step forward from ma'am, which made her feel old.</p><p>"It's good to see you, Steve," she smiled. "But please call me Mandy."</p><p>"Alright, will do. You're appearing on the show tonight, right?"</p><p>"Yes I am. I'm looking forward to it."</p><p>"Well, we're working the same angle, so it's likely we'll be out there together. If I can help in any way, I'm happy to."</p><p>"Thanks, Steve, I appreciate that," Mandy smiled.</p><p>They parted ways, and Mandy looked at her husband, feeling glad that he was held in high regard by most of the talent. It meant that she was too, by association. She hoped to keep that going in her own right, now that she was going to be around regularly.</p><hr/><p>As if making her first appearance on WWF programming hadn't been enough to make Mandy feel nervous, Vince telling her that she was going to open the show certainly had been. After the previous week's ending on Smackdown, with Vince winning the WWF Championship, the fans would be red hot in anticipation of what was to come next. As it turned out, it would be Mandy's job to announce what was to come next.</p><p>As Steve Austin had predicted, he was indeed going to be a part of the segment with her. She was grateful for the fact that he had been willing to help her prepare – an offer that she had taken him up on. Not having a script was new to her; all she had been given was a few bullet points to hit. The rest was up to her to do a good job with. Thanks to Steve's help, she felt as ready as she could be to go out to the ring and do just that.</p><p>Mandy was also grateful to Shane for letting her stand on her own feet. She knew he would have been more than happy to help her if she needed it, but he in turn knew that she wouldn't want the talent to see him babysitting her.</p><p>Not babysitting her was one thing, but that hadn't stopped Shane walking with her to Gorilla in time for the start of the show. Steve Austin was also there, ready for when his cue came later.</p><p>"How do I look?" Mandy asked Shane, looking down at her black suit jacket and purple blouse.</p><p>"Gorgeous, babe, obviously," Shane said quietly. He gave her a kiss on the forehead for luck.</p><p>Out in the arena, a video package began to play as an introduction to Raw. It recapped the confrontation between Vince and Triple H on the previous week's Smackdown, which had led to an impromptu WWF Championship match, during which Shane had been kayfabe injured. Vince had ended up a bloody mess, but thanks to interference and a stunner from Austin, who had put McMahon on top of Triple H for the pin, Vince had won the match and the championship. The only problem was that Vince wasn't even supposed to be involved on TV, thanks to a match stipulation earlier in the year.</p><p>The video package ended, linking right into the title sequence. A cheer went up in the arena as Thorn in Your Eye, the iconic theme music, began to play.</p><p>After about twenty seconds, the intro video finished. Mandy knew the pyro display was coming, but the loudness of the first explosions just the other side of the curtain made her jump. Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed her reaction.</p><p>The piercing shrieks and colossal explosions went on for about thirty seconds, until the display finished with a loud crackling pyro. With the Raw theme still playing, the capacity crowd roared in excitement. In Gorilla, it sounded like a wall of noise, and it was seriously intimidating.</p><p>On commentary, Jim Ross would now be welcoming the viewers at home to the show, and hyping them up for what was to come.</p><p>"Good luck. You got this," Shane said to Mandy, giving her hand a squeeze.</p><p>"Thank you," she replied.</p><p>In the arena, ring announcer Lilian Garcia began an announcement. "Please welcome one of the owners of the World Wrestling Federation, Amanda McMahon."</p><p>No Chance In Hell, the theme music for the McMahon family, began to play. As Mandy had never been on TV before, the Titantron video featuring Vince and Shane accompanied it. There was a small cheer from the crowd, which was a positive.</p><p>After taking a deep breath for courage, Mandy stepped through the curtain into the arena.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A small cheer went up as Mandy walked out onto the stage. On her way down the ramp, she made sure to smile in acknowledgement, but kept herself looking professional. Grinning like an idiot would not have been right for a supposed owner of the World Wrestling Federation.</p><p>Entering to the same music as Vince and her husband was a unique, and in some ways amusing experience. She didn't think it fit her all that well, but judging by the fact that Vince had called it 'the McMahon's theme', she imagined she would be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.</p><p>Upon entering the ring, Mandy took her first look around the arena. It was an intimidating sight, packed full of fans, and with more signs than she could count. She walked over to the corner of the ring, where Lilian Garcia handed her a microphone.</p><p>"Well, if anyone didn't believe that anything can happen in the World Wrestling Federation, I guess they're a believer now," Mandy began, obviously referring to Vince's title win. The opening sentence had been a suggestion from Steve Austin. Happily, it went down well, receiving a cheer.</p><p>"You see, last week on Smackdown, my father-in-law Vince McMahon, thanks to of all people, Stone Cold Steve Austin, won the World Wrestling Federation Championship."</p><p>Another notable cheer went up. It seemed bizarre for Vince to get that kind of reaction, having been literally the most hated character in the company for a couple of years.</p><p>"Having spoken to Vince, I know that when he confronted Triple H on Smackdown, it wasn't about business, it was personal. But being the WWF Champion is all about business, and as I'm sure you're all aware, per a previous contract, Vince is not able to participate in day to day business activities. Therefore, as my husband was injured last week by Triple H, it fell to me to come here tonight to announce that Vince McMahon has relinquished the World Wrestling Federation Championship."</p><p>There was some mild booing at that revelation, but Mandy pressed on.</p><p>"As the McMahon family spokesperson, I can also announce that the winner of the six pack match at this Sunday's Unforgiven will be the undisputed World Wrestling Federation Champion."</p><p>The sound of glass exploding brought a deafening roar of excitement from the fans. Mandy was kind of blown away by the reaction to Steve Austin's music. She could only imagine what it felt like to him, receiving that kind of ovation each and every week.</p><p>Mindful of the McMahon family's history with Stone Cold, Mandy had made sure to look suitably nervous by his interruption. She watched on while he went through his entrance routine, posing on each of the four turnbuckles, receiving an ovation each time.</p><p>When he was done, Austin grabbed a microphone and launched into what he had to say in his customary forceful manner. "We haven't met before, but you're a McMahon, and I'm Stone Cold Steve Austin, so you probably don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you. But from what I'm picking up, with Vince McMahon giving up the World Wrestling Federation Championship and taking himself out of the match at Unforgiven, you've got five people in a six pack match, and you believe me, nobody knows a six pack better than Stone Cold Steve Austin."</p><p>The fans cheered again at the mention of his affinity for beer. Meanwhile, Mandy looked at him as though she didn't know what he was getting at. "Where are you going with this?" she asked.</p><p>"What I'm proposing to you is that I'll take Vince's spot in that six pack match, and take back exactly what is mine, the WWF title," Austin said, to a cheer of approval.</p><p>"I don't know that that's a decision I can make," Mandy said uneasily.</p><p>Triple H's music hit, drawing a volley of boos from the fans. Mandy turned towards the stage, glaring at the man who was currently the number one enemy of the McMahon family as he emerged with Chyna, his manager and real life girlfriend, by his side.</p><p>"You're damn right you can't make that decision," Triple H said, speaking from the stage and pointing at Mandy. There were some 'asshole' chants coming his way already, which he ignored. "I don't know what the two of you are trying to pull, but I have every right to be in that six pack match at Unforgiven. Vince and Austin stole from me like thieves in the night. They took my property. They took my gold."</p><p>On the spur of the moment, Mandy decided to have a bit of fun, and to hopefully endear the crowd to her a little in the process. "I think, here in Houston, they're calling your name again."</p><p>The crowd took great enjoyment from immediately bursting into a loud chorus of 'asshole'. Mandy detected Steve trying not to grin for moment before he was able to supress it and stay in character.</p><p>"Do you think I care?" Triple H shouted after a few moments. "Do you think I care what these idiots think? I don't care! They can all kiss my ass!"</p><p>The crowd started to boo, but Austin intervened, standing on the middle turnbuckle in a corner of the ring and pointing at the former champion. "I can't hear a word you're saying because you've got nineteen thousand people calling you an asshole!"</p><p>Mandy allowed herself a smile as the fans cheered loudly.</p><p>Triple H angrily moved on. "Amanda, you listen to me, and you listen good. You either give me that spot in the six pack match, or I swear to God the next time I see Vince or your husband I'm going to put them in a hospital."</p><p>Mandy looked outraged and possibly a little frightened by the threat.</p><p>Austin rounded on her, providing the production crew with some bleeping to do for the repeat broadcasts. "For shit's sake, Amanda, when's Vince going to grow a set and start taking control of his damn company?"</p><p>"I'm sure Vince would like nothing more than to take control of the World Wrestling Federation again," Mandy said. "But as you well know, the contract that was signed for Fully Loaded stated that if the Undertaker failed to defeat you, he was going to be on the side lines, and unfortunately that's exactly where he is."</p><p>"Shit, Amanda, don't the McMahon family's hotshot lawyers read fine print?" Austin asked. "The fine print in that contract said that only one son of a bitch can reinstate Vince McMahon in the World Wrestling Federation."</p><p>Mandy allowed her eyebrows to raise as Austin paused for a second for effect.</p><p>"And that one son of a bitch would be me, Stone Cold Steve Austin."</p><p>"What are you saying?" Mandy asked.</p><p>"What I'm saying is I'll re-instate Vince's ass back in the World Wrestling Federation right here, right now, if you grant me my WWF title shot."</p><p>The fans cheered, encouraging Mandy to take the deal.</p><p>"Then I'll tell Vince to consider himself re-instated because you just got your title shot," Mandy said with authority.</p><p>As the fans cheered their approval, Triple H was losing his mind on the stage, livid at being screwed over again, as he saw it.</p><p>"But it won't be at Unforgiven," Mandy said to Austin, who now also looked less than pleased. "No, you'll meet the winner of the match at Unforgiven. The person I'm going to put in the six pack match is you, Triple H, because there are five other guys who want to kick your ass as badly as Shane would if he were here tonight!"</p><p>The crowd signalled their approval of the sentiment, although the practicalities of Shane kicking Triple H's ass were questionable.</p><p>"Fine!" Triple H thundered. "But you know what? Screw you, Amanda!"</p><p>"Oh! Screw me?" Mandy asked, affronted. She immediately set out to punish his ill-judged outburst. "No, screw you, because guess what? Since the referees are on strike, there is now a special enforcer in the six pack match, and his name is Stone Cold Steve Austin!"</p><p>As the fans went off again, Austin climbed the turnbuckles once more, pleased with the announcement and it's implications for Triple H. It fell to him to bring the segment to a close, with the help of the crowd.</p><p>"And that's the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so!"</p><p>As the glass broke and Austin's music began to play, Mandy held back a sigh of relief. Her first promo was over. She had gotten through it without messing up. In fact, she felt like she had done a pretty good job. Momentarily, it would be time to head to the back, where she would find out what Shane and Vince thought.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Saturday morning was starting out the right way for Amanda McMahon. Having gotten up early to make breakfast, she had done an hour in the gym in the basement of her and Shane's Connecticut mansion. The late September sun was beating down from an almost cloudless sky, with surprising heat for the time of year. Not one to waste an opportunity, Mandy was lying on a sun lounger beside their pool, wearing a revealing red bikini and black sunglasses.</p><p>"You look comfortable," Shane said as he walked out of house, surprising Mandy slightly.</p><p>"I am," she smiled, looking up at him from her relaxed position. "Can you believe how warm it is? I love it."</p><p>"I know! That's why I brought you this." Shane handed her a tall glass of water with ice in it.</p><p>"Thank you, honey. Are you going to have your swim now?" On the face of it, it seemed like a pointless question, since he was standing there in swim shorts and no top.</p><p>"Actually, no. Dad just called. He wants us to go over to the house. He's got something important to talk about. He sounded a bit flustered about it, actually."</p><p>Mandy lifted her sunglasses up to her forehead. "You mean something with him or your mom? Or something with work?"</p><p>"Work. He said Vince is on his way over there."</p><p>Great, Mandy thought with an inward sigh. Vince Russo was the senior writer for the World Wrestling Federation. Mandy didn't like him, finding him annoying, and even worse, creepy. There had been a couple of times in the past when she had caught him leering at her when she had been wearing something revealing.</p><p>"I said we'd be over in an hour, so I'm sorry to ruin your morning in the sun," Shane said.</p><p>"It's fine," Mandy said, although she was annoyed to have her day altered with no notice. "I'll go upstairs and get myself ready. At least we'll probably end up staying for lunch, and that'll mean I won't have to make dinner today. Your mom always make something amazing."</p><p>Shane crouched down before Mandy could get up from her sun lounger, and they kissed. "She does. But she's not as good a cook as you."</p><p>Cooking was something that Mandy thoroughly enjoyed, and happened to be very talented at. She took great pleasure in entertaining guests and putting together a big spread for them all to enjoy. She also liked making meals to share with Shane. But most of all, she enjoyed teasing him when he couldn't partake in her culinary delights.</p><p>"Of course she isn't, how could she be?" she said. "Anyway, I've got bad news for you, mister. No Sunday dinner tomorrow because it's a pay-per-view weekend."</p><p>"That's true," he said, exaggerating the disappointment to play along. "I suppose I'll have to find a nice restaurant to take you to instead, then."</p><p>Mandy giggled. "I suppose you will."</p><hr/><p>"Russo is here," Shane said as he pulled up in the driveway parking area out front of his parent's mansion. The writer's car was parked nearby.</p><p>"Yes," Mandy said simply. As she got out of their Mercedes, she found herself hoping that the discussion about business wouldn't drag on too long. Ever since the plan had been made to make her an on-screen character, she had been 'invited' to sit in on the meetings. The problem was that she had no real mind for the business, and often found herself mostly listening, not contributing much to the discussion. It made the whole thing a bit of a chore.</p><p>They walked up to the front door, and Shane pressed the doorbell. Shortly, the door was opened by the housekeeper, a young dark haired woman named Melina, who was holding a large feather duster.</p><p>"Good morning," Melina said. "Go through to the dining room. Vince is on the phone in his office right now."</p><p>Having two Vince's involved wasn't exactly ideal as far as conversation was concerned, but Mandy knew Melina was talking about her father-in-law.</p><p>"Morning, Melina," Shane said, while Mandy smiled as they walked into the entrance hall.</p><p>"Can I get you anything? There's already coffee on the table," Melina said.</p><p>"I think we're good, thank you," Mandy said.</p><p>For whatever reason, Vince liked to hold his meetings at the dining room table. Mandy followed Shane through to the dining room, finding Vince Russo sitting in there on his usual chair, with a cup of coffee in front of him.</p><p>"Morning," Russo said, seeming more downcast than usual.</p><p>"Morning. This doesn't sound good," Shane said, picking up on the mood.</p><p>"I'll let Vince tell you when he come back," Russo said.</p><p>Mandy looked at Shane as they both sat down. He looked back at her with a puzzled expression. She began to wonder if someone had died or something. Neither of them opted to have a coffee.</p><p>"Where's mom, do you know?" Shane asked Russo. Mandy wondered if he was concerned that something had happened to her, but she knew Vince would have passed that kind of news on straight away on the phone.</p><p>"Out somewhere, Vince told me."</p><p>At the moment, Vince walked into the room. "Morning," he sighed.</p><p>"Hi," Mandy said, offering a smile.</p><p>"Hey, dad. What's going on?" Shane asked.</p><p>Before Vince could answer, Stephanie walked into the room behind him. She still lived at home, having recently graduated from Boston University. She was also in the early stages of becoming an on-screen character, in a storyline relationship with Test. More greetings were exchanged.</p><p>"I get the feeling something pretty bad is going on," Shane said as Stephanie sat down next to him, and Vince took his place at the head of the table.</p><p>"You could say that," Vince said. "Actually, two things are going on. Last night, I got a call from Mick Foley. As you know, he's had a number of physical problems going on for a while, including knee surgery a couple of months ago. He called me last night to tell me he's decided to retire."</p><p>"Oh, man, that's a shame," Shane said with feeling.</p><p>"Yeah, it is. Mick's always been so nice to me," Stephanie said. "Is he going to stop right now, or is he having a farewell match?"</p><p>"Well, we'll talk about that after the second piece of bad news. This one is worse," Vince said. "Steve Austin has been feeling some pain again with his neck injury. We sent him away for scans. The verdict came back this morning. He needs surgery, and it looks like it will be career ending."</p><p>"Oh, sh... shoot," Shane said, catching himself. "That's a disaster. There's no other way to look at it. An utter disaster."</p><p>Mandy had to agree with her husband, not that she was as knowledgeable about the business as him. She didn't have to be in order to realise how bad it was for the company to lose the biggest star they had.</p><p>"Yeah," Vince said, shaking his head. "I spoke to Steve just now, and he's upset about the news, as you can imagine. He's insisting on working the match we had planned for the next pay-per-view, No Mercy, against Triple H. After that, we need to write him off TV. He'll get the surgery in November, then we'll have to take it from there."</p><p>"This is unreal," Stephanie said sadly.</p><p>"Unfortunately, it's all too real," Vince said with a grimace on his face. "The immediate problem we have is it means we're now not going to get the big triple threat match we wanted for Survivor Series between Austin, Triple H and The Rock. We were relying on that to be a huge draw for that show."</p><p>"So use it," Mandy said, thinking out loud.</p><p>"Honey, we can't advertise a match the fans aren't going to get," Shane said.</p><p>"Sure we can," Mandy said. "Have whatever's going to happen to Austin happen at Survivor Series, and change the match during the show."</p><p>"She's on to something. I like that," Russo said, smiling at Mandy. She hoped he had said it because it was true, rather than because she wanted to butter her up.</p><p>"Hmmm," Vince said thoughtfully "It's a novel idea, building up for something we know full well isn't going to happen. Let's for a moment assume we do that. How do we write Steve off TV mid way through the show? A regular backstage beat down isn't enough to take Stone Cold out, possibly for good."</p><p>Russo spoke next. "Do we want to write him out in a way that he can come back? Or do we find a way to hurt him bad enough so he's out for a long time, but can return, if he's able to."</p><p>"Definitely nothing permanent," Vince said. "We absolutely have to leave a return open for if we get a surprisingly good outcome on the surgery. I'm thinking of something like a busted leg or a repeat of his broken neck. But I don't know how we would go about that. Ideas?"</p><p>"Hunter is starting to make a thing out of using a sledgehammer," Stephanie said.</p><p>Russo nodded. "We already had him injure Mankind that way, hitting his knee with the hammer. We could do something with that."</p><p>"I'm not sure I like that," Vince said.</p><p>"Have someone run his ass over," Shane said out of nowhere.</p><p>"What?" Mandy asked, horrified by that idea.</p><p>"Obviously we'd need to find a way to do it that didn't hurt him for real, but looked convincing enough for a camera. Just imagine Austin arriving for the show at Survivor Series. He's walking through the parking garage, then boom! A car comes out of nowhere and takes him out."</p><p>Everyone waited for Vince's verdict. For her part, Mandy didn't know what to make of the idea. Luckily, she wasn't in the position to have to make decisions like that.</p><p>"I like it," Vince decided. "I'll have to talk to Steve though and see if he wants to do it. Getting run down with a car isn't exactly something I can unilaterally force on him. There is also the question as to who's going to drive the car."</p><p>"We can defer on that, if we want to," Russo said. "Make it a car with tinted windows and nobody is going to be able to see who it is. Unless you want the person to be seen?"</p><p>Shane said, "I like the idea of keeping it a mystery. It'd be a great storyline for Steve's return, if he's able to make one."</p><p>"I agree," Mandy said, more out of a desire to support her husband than anything else.</p><p>A few minutes were spent talking over other ideas, but they ended up returning to the one with the driver being hidden from the audience by tinted windows.</p><p>"I'm going to try and talk Mick into staying on for a while, once he's had a couple of days to mull over our conversation last night," Vince said. "But if he does confirm his decision to retire, we're suddenly out two babyfaces. We're going to need to turn and push someone who's currently working heel."</p><p>"The British Bulldog, maybe," Mandy said without much conviction in her voice. She felt out of her depth talking about such important wrestling-related business. What she did know through Shane was that the Bulldog had a storied history with the company, and had made a miraculous comeback from being told he would never walk again after injuring his back in a WCW ring only five months earlier. That was the kind of thing that could easily be used to make him popular with the audience. How could anyone not find it admirable?</p><p>Picking up on what she was getting at, Shane voiced his agreement, and essentially put forward the same arguments in support of the idea that had been on Mandy's mind.</p><p>"I think that's good too," Stephanie said.</p><p>"Hmmm," Vince said again. "My main issue with Davey being the WWF Champion is his promo work. He's got that real strong accent. Hell, I can't understand what he's saying half the time."</p><p>"So put a manager with him," Shane said.</p><p>"Such as who?" Vince asked.</p><p>Shane said, "How about me? Or Mandy?" he added as a second thought.</p><p>Vince looked at Mandy, appearing to like her best for the role. "How about it, Mandy? You mentioned the guy's name first. What do you say to managing him after Survivor Series?"</p><p>Having no particular objection to it, Mandy decided to agree to the proposal. "Okay, let's do it. But what do I have until then?"</p><p>"Until then, you'll be continuing where you left off," Vince said. "You'll be doing promo work, mainly with Steve."</p><p>"Sounds good to me," Mandy said, very much looking forward to her next appearance on TV.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Backstage before Raw, Shane and Amanda McMahon were relaxing in what they referred to as their office. Mandy had found out that for the second week in a row she would be involved in the opening segment of Raw. Vince certainly wasn't holding back on how he booked her. On one hand it would continue to be something of a baptism of fire for her, but on the other hand it would help to quickly establish her with the audience.</p><p>"Where's Steph got to?" Shane asked. They knew that Stephanie and Vince had arrived before them, yet there had been no sign of her in the office so far, which was unusual.</p><p>"I don't know," Mandy said. "Maybe she ran into Test and they're working on whatever they've got for tonight's show?"</p><p>"Yeah, that's probably it," Shane said. He got up off the couch and went over to the spread that had been provided for them by the catering company.</p><p>"Are you going to start with that already?" Mandy chuckled as he unwrapped a salad platter.</p><p>"What? I'm hungry!" he protested.</p><p>"You're always hungry. I always say I don't know how you stay in shape."</p><p>Shane looked at her and gave her a corny smile. "But I do stay in shape. You love it."</p><p>"Yes, I love it," Mandy said, rolling her eyes.</p><p>The door opened. Mandy looked over, expecting to see Stephanie walk in. Instead, it was one of Shane's real life friends, a member of the Mean Street Posse stable, known on-screen as Pete Gas.</p><p>"Shane, you'd better come, man," Pete said urgently. "It's all blown up big time in your dad's office."</p><p>"What has all blown up?" Shane asked, standing there with a carrot stick in his hand. In other circumstances, Mandy would have found the sight amusing, but whatever was going on seemed serious.</p><p>"Chyna's about ready to kill Steph. Apparently she's been sleeping with Hunter, and Chyna found out about it. She went to confront your day about it, and Steph happened to be there when she walked in."</p><p>"Wait, wait, wait. Steph's sleeping with Hunter? Since when?" Shane asked incredulously.</p><p>"How the hell do I know?" Pete said, spreading his arms wide. "Are you going to get down there or not?"</p><p>"Yes. Let's go," Shane said, hurrying for the door.</p><p>Unsure whether she was supposed to stay behind or go with her husband, Mandy found herself hurrying after him, leaving Pete behind. She could barely believe what she had just heard. What the hell was Stephanie doing sleeping with Triple H when she knew full well that he was in a relationship? Apart from anything else, it seemed totally out of character for her.</p><p>Before they got as far as Vince's office, they encountered Stephanie hurrying in the opposite direction, looking tearful and distressed.</p><p>"Steph, what the hell's going on?" Shane demanded, getting hot-headed, as was his way around any kind of drama. Mandy knew that a different approach would be better.</p><p>"Shane, why don't you go talk to your dad," she suggested, although her tone told him that it wasn't really a suggestion.</p><p>"Is it true?" Shane demanded of Stephanie when she reached them.</p><p>"Shane! Go!" Mandy said firmly as she put an arm around Stephanie, who made no attempt to reply to her brother.</p><p>Reluctantly, Shane continued on towards Vince's office. Mandy pushed open the closest door and led Stephanie inside the room, discovered that it was some kind of small conference room. Mick Foley was sitting at the table in there, writing something.</p><p>"Sorry, Mick. Do you mind giving us a few minutes?" Mandy asked him.</p><p>"Of course," Foley said, quickly getting up with a look of concern for Stephanie on his face. "Steph, are you okay?" he asked.</p><p>"I don't want to talk," Stephanie mumbled, refusing to look at anyone. She kept her head down, looking ashamed and upset.</p><p>"I've got it, Mick, thanks," Mandy said, trying to reassure him with a smile.</p><p>"Alright, come and grab me if you need anything," Mick said on his way to the door.</p><p>"Let's have a sit down," Mandy said to Stephanie, who obliged her by sitting beside her at the table where Mick had been working. Mandy carefully moved his things aside.</p><p>"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," Stephanie said pathetically.</p><p>"Steph, what's going on?" Mandy asked gently. She enjoyed a good relationship with her sister-in-law, which right now was something for Stephanie to be grateful for. "Pete came in, rambling something about a confrontation in Vince's office to do with you, Hunter and Chyna."</p><p>"I thought she was going to hit me," Stephanie said, finally looking Mandy. Her eyes gleamed with tears, not that she was the one deserving of much sympathy if Pete's story was accurate.</p><p>"Start at the beginning, Steph," Mandy said. "Have you been seeing Hunter?"</p><p>"Yes. We love each other."</p><p>Oh, Christ, Mandy thought, sensing that a real mess was on the family's hands. "How long has it been going on for?" she asked.</p><p>"A couple of months. Look, I know how this must sound to you, Mandy. You're probably thinking I'm an idiot for having a fling with one of the wrestlers, and an even bigger idiot for thinking he loves me. But it's not like that. Hunter does love me, I know he does. And I love him."</p><p>"So why is he still with Chyna, then? Why didn't he break it off with her two months ago?"</p><p>"Because we were afraid that it would all blow up, causing drama at work, pissing off my dad, and harming both of our careers."</p><p>"And now that's happened anyway," Mandy sighed. Despite Stephanie being in the wrong, she felt some sympathy for her. It was hard not to when a close family member was in distress.</p><p>"Yes," Stephanie mumbled. "Dad was so angry at me. I dread what he's going to say to Hunter. He yelled at Chyna too, for saying she was going to rip my head off my shoulders."</p><p>"I mean, I can't sit here and say I can't understand why she said that. How did she find out anyway?"</p><p>Stephanie shook her head. "She found a letter I wrote to him in his luggage. I can't believe he got careless enough to leave it there like that."</p><p>"What did the letter say? Obviously enough for her to figure out what's been going on."</p><p>"I've written him a few. I don't know which one she found. Whichever one it was, it would have made it more than clear we've been sleeping together. They're quite... graphic, I guess is the word."</p><p>"Oh," Mandy said, raising her eyebrows as she realised what kind of letter they were talking about. "So I'm guessing it's going to be over between her and Hunter now?"</p><p>"Yeah," Stephanie said definitively, making it sound like an understatement. "That's about the only bit of good to come through this. Dad's pissed at me big time, not to mention Hunter. We were supposed to start that angle towards the end of the year where I was married to him. I doubt that will happen now. It'll mess up both of our careers, and everyone backstage will think I'm a slut."</p><p>"No one will think that," Mandy lied in a comforting tone, knowing full well that a lot of the guys would, such was the inevitable double standard. Triple H would be applauded in the locker room for being one of the guys, nailing two women at once. But Stephanie would be considered a slut for sleeping with him. It made no sense, but that was how it would be nonetheless.</p><p>"Of course they will," Stephanie said. Now that she had calmed down a bit, she found some resolve. "But I don't care. People can say what they want. Dad and Shane can say what they want. I'm going to be with Hunter no matter what. I told dad that too, after Chyna left."</p><p>"What did he say to that?"</p><p>"We'll see about that," Stephanie said, imitating Vince's voice. "I can tell you now, if he thinks he's going to run my life for me he's got another thing coming."</p><p>Mandy put a gentle hand on her arm. "If I were you I would let things calm down for a while. Let your dad blow off steam. Talk to him in a couple of days or something."</p><p>"And what about Shane? He's going to go all big brother and try to confront Hunter, I can see it coming. You know how he gets. He'll think he's protecting me, but him interfering is the last thing I want."</p><p>"Leave your brother to me," Mandy said. That was one area where she definitely could help.</p><hr/><p>"I'm going to fucking kill him!" Shane raged. He was pacing around their office like a caged animal.</p><p>Meanwhile, Mandy, having left Stephanie in the care of Ivory, one the few female wrestlers on the roster, was standing near the door with her hands on her hips. "You're not going to kill anyone," she said firmly. "What you're going to do is calm down."</p><p>"Calm down? That son of a bitch is taking advantage of my little sister!" Shane thundered.</p><p>"No he's not. At least, I don't believe he is. Stephanie told me they're in love. I believe her. She's in no doubt that Hunter feels the same way about her as she feels about him."</p><p>"So why didn't he break it off with Chyna?" Shane demanded.</p><p>"I'm sure he wishes he had now. Apparently he was going to, but these things aren't exactly simple. Shane, I understand why you're angry, but I want you to take a breath. Your sister has done something wrong in sleeping with someone who she knew was in a relationship. She knows that. I'm sure Hunter knows he has done wrong too. With your dad going off the deep end, what Steph needs is support from you, and from me. Can you do that, or do I have to start banging heads together?"</p><p>Shane took a moment to compose himself, trying to resolve himself to the wisdom of what his wife was saying to him. "Alright," he relented. "But I'm going to be talking to Hunter, and I'd better be convinced by what he has to say for himself."</p><p>"Okay," Mandy said, realising that was the best she was going to get out of him for now. "Just leave it until after the show. Give cooler heads a chance to prevail."</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Against the odds, and much to the frustration of the fans, Triple H had emerged from the six pack match at Unforgiven as the WWF Champion. To the likely surprise of nobody, he had been the one to kick off Raw, coming out to crow about his victory, rubbing it in the faces of the audience and his defeated opponents alike.</p><p>The British Bulldog eventually interrupted the new champion's monologue. Waiting in Gorilla with him for her own cue later in the segment, Mandy had done nothing more than say hello. They had never spoken before, and as with a lot of the wrestlers, she felt a little intimidated by him. As yet, Davey had no idea that she would be managing him in a couple of month's time. That information was known only to the McMahon inner circle at the moment.</p><p>During the six pack match, there had been a point where The Rock had been on the verge of attaining victory over Triple H. It was the Bulldog who had prevented that from happening, coming to Triple H's aid with a steel chair and taking out The Rock.</p><p>After completing his entrance, the Englishman revealed that a deal had been in place, in that if Triple H won, he would give the Bulldog the first title shot.</p><p>True to form, Triple H smugly announced that he had lied, proceeding to beat down the Bulldog with the aid of Chyna, who was still managing him on-screen despite the state of their personal relationship behind the scenes. Mandy couldn't imagine how awkward that was going to be for them.</p><p>Several referees were sent to the ring to break up the beat down. Mandy knew her music was going to play shortly, along with her first Titantron video. The production team had apparently put one together by using little snippets from her appearance the week before. She would get a better one before long, she was sure.</p><p>No Chance In Hell's intro dropped. Mandy heard something of a cheer from the crowd. She was a long way from a fan favourite, but at least the reaction was on the positive side of neutral.</p><p>Vince had told her to give her promo from the stage due to how crowded the ring was. Drawing something of an ovation, she stepped through the curtain to do just that. She hoped that she looked business-like with a fair amount of glamour, dressed in her expensive business suit and cream blouse. Vince had asked her to go for that look each week rather than wearing a dress.</p><p>"Well, Triple H," Mandy began when her music stopped. "First of all, I should congratulate you on once again becoming the World Wrestling Federation Champion."</p><p>She waited out the inevitable boos. The crowd certainly had no congratulations to pass on. In the ring, Triple H glared at her with the venom he directed at all of the McMahon family.</p><p>"However, I was disappointed to hear that you don't want to defend your newly won title tonight, in Greensboro, North Carolina." There was a cheer from the fans. "I was disappointed to hear that you don't want to, because tonight, you will!" Mandy said emphatically.</p><p>Triple H looked angry with the revelation. By contrast, the Bulldog, who was now back on his feet, looked pleased, seeming to think the opportunity was coming his way.</p><p>"I hope the Bulldog didn't cause you any harm, Triple H, because tonight in Greensboro you're going to defend the WWF Championship against the man the Bulldog screwed last night at Unforgiven."</p><p>A cheer went up immediately. The fans new exactly who she meant, and they loved it. A 'Rocky' chant started, forcing Mandy to delay the flourish at the end of her promo.</p><p>"That's right, Triple H," she said after a few moments. "Tonight, you defend the WWF Championship against The Rock!"</p><p>The fans went wild. The Rock was rapidly approaching Steve Austin's level of popularity. Indeed, he may already have reached it.</p><p>As Triple H raged into the ring, Mandy's music played and she walked off the stage. As would be explored later in the show, there was only one problem with the announcement she had just made: she had already promised a title match to Stone Cold Steve Austin in exchange for Vince McMahon being reinstated in the WWF.</p><hr/><p>After the first match of the night, Stone Cold was shown arriving at the arena. He was stopped by Michael Cole, who told him about the match that Amanda had made, with Triple H defending the WWF title against The Rock. Unsurprisingly, Austin looked extremely angry at the news as he walked away and the show went to commercial.</p><p>When Raw came back on the air, the sound of glass breaking brought the crowd to their feet, giving Stone Cold a customary deafening ovation. The Rattlesnake stormed to the ring, leaving no one in any doubt as to why he had come out. After going through his entrance routine, he grabbed a microphone and launched into his promo.</p><p>"You can only imagine that when I just rolled into Greensboro, North Carolina, I was a little surprised, and a lot pissed off, to learn that Triple H was ordered to defend the WWF Championship, not against me, as Amanda McMahon promised, but against The Rock. With all due respect to The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin wants what's his, so I want Amanda McMahon to bring her carcass to this ring, because the bitch has got some explaining to do to Stone Cold Steve Austin!"</p><p>Even with Mandy being somewhat popular with the fans, there was no chance of them taking her side in any potential conflict with Austin. They cheered his outburst enthusiastically.</p><p>When No Chance In Hell began to play for the second time, Mandy noticed that she got a much more lukewarm response than she had the first time. She imagined the crowd were wondering if she was about to screw Stone Cold out of his title shot, which would turn her heel in two seconds flat.</p><p>"Put some spring in your step. You've some explaining to do," Austin said to her as she made her way down the ramp.</p><p>Mandy tried to look placatory as she entered the ring and fetched a microphone. "You want an explanation?" she asked Austin.</p><p>"You're damn right I want an explanation," he barked. "Because I reinstated Vince McMahon, your father-in-law, back in the World Wrestling Federation in exchange for a title shot. So, yes, Einstein, I want an explanation."</p><p>"You're entitled to one," Mandy acknowledged. "But first, I would like to publically thank you for reinstating Vince. And yes, I did say that in exchange for that, you would get a title shot. That was the agreement. The only thing is, I didn't say to you when you would get the title shot."</p><p>Some boos came from the crowd. Austin stepped up to Mandy, the look in his eyes showing that he was seconds away from dropping her with a stunner.</p><p>"Now wait a minute," Mandy said quickly. "I see that look in your eye, and I know what it means. There's no need for that. There's no need for it because I will live up to my word. You reinstated Vince in exchange for a title shot. That was the agreement, and it's what will happen. You will get your title shot, just like was promised, Stone Cold. You'll get it in less than three week's time, at No Mercy, no matter who the WWF Champion is at that time."</p><p>Austin seemed marginally happier now that he had heard that. But he knew better than to easily trust a McMahon. "Let me be real clear on what you're saying, because for a long time everyone in your family has been full of complete crap. I will get my title shot at No Mercy, that is what you're saying?"</p><p>Mandy nodded seriously. "Absolutely."</p><p>Stepping up to her again, Austin spoke more quietly and less forcefully than usual, which in it's own way was threatening. "Then all I've got to say to you is that damn well better be what happens, or I will, like I never have to anyone before, stomp a mud hole in your ass and walk it dry. And that is the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so."</p><p>The glass broke, bringing the intense moment, and the segment, to an end. Mandy was happy with how it had gone. She didn't know if Steve felt the same way, but it seemed to her that they worked well together when the cameras were on.</p><p>Once the show had gone to commercial, Mandy left the ring to head for the back. It said a lot that there was as much drama back there as there was happening on the show.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Amanda McMahon's day job for WWE was to take charge of all of the company's branding. Her duties included having the final sign off to approve all merchandise, and to approve the branding for the many trucks that were used to move equipment around the country.</p><p>This particular week, she was behind in her work. In order to try and catch up, she had taken some of it home, which was why she was spending Wednesday evening in the office on the top floor of their three storey house.</p><p>"No. Just no," she said to herself, looking at a proposed new t-shirt design for The Rock. The brahma bull logo on the front was a mess of different colours that looked truly hideous. It made even less sense considering how well the current designs sold. She used her pen to mark the design with a cross, sealing its fate.</p><p>Downstairs, she heard someone knocking on the front door. Unlike Vince and Linda, she and Shane didn't have a full time housekeeper. They had a woman who came around twice a week to clean, but other than that Mandy took pleasure in running her own home. Unfortunately, it did mean having to get up and answer the door while she was trying to work.</p><p>Getting up, Mandy hurried out onto the landing.</p><p>"I've got it!" Shane called out from down on the ground floor.</p><p>Mandy had assumed he was still out back, enjoying his routine evening swim after his workout. Apparently he must have just finished. Nonetheless, she proceeded downstairs to see who had come to see them. She heard Shane open the door.</p><p>"I've walked out of home. I need somewhere to stay," she heard Stephanie say.</p><p>Oh great, Mandy thought. Monday's drama was still going strong, not that it was a surprise. After Raw had gone off air and most of the talent had left the arena there had been a huge row between Vince, Stephanie, and Hunter Helmsley. Vince was livid about them seeing each other, and about the disgraceful way it had come to light, with Chyna finding the love letter from Stephanie. There had been no real conclusion to the argument on Monday, for it had ended with Shane breaking it up and sending everyone home to cool off. It seemed that there hadn't been much cooling off going on between Vince and Stephanie.</p><p>"Wait, slow down. What are you talking about?" Mandy heard Shane say.</p><p>"Dad was being a dick again, shouting at me because I was on the phone to Hunter. I'm twenty-three years old, Shane. I can call whoever the hell I want. I can date whoever the hell I want."</p><p>"Look, come in. Stop shouting outside. In fact stop shouting at all. I haven't done anything to warrant being shouted at."</p><p>Walking down the stairs to the ground floor, Mandy saw Stephanie hauling two travel cases over the threshold. Shane was standing there in only his swimming shorts, making the scene look even more bizarre.</p><p>"Sorry. But he's made me so angry, Shane. I told him I was leaving, and I'm never going back."</p><p>"And what did mom say to that?" Shane asked pointedly.</p><p>"She wasn't home. She went out, because she'd had enough of the atmosphere at home I guess. Hi, Mandy."</p><p>"Hi, Steph," Mandy said, managing not to sigh. Personally, she didn't need the drama in her life, and she wasn't totally fond of Stephanie showing up and effectively moving in without even calling to ask first. But she knew how close Shane was to his sister, and that arguing against would only cause more drama for no reward. If Stephanie wanted to stay at their place, she would be, at least for a while.</p><p>"So how did you leave things with dad?" Shane asked.</p><p>"I didn't say anything to him after I packed my stuff. Before I went up to my room, he told me I wasn't going to date Hunter and that was final. I said if that's how he was going to be, I was leaving. I was waiting for him to say if I left home I would have to leave my job as well, but he didn't."</p><p>"Are you sure this thing with Hunter is serious enough for this?" Mandy asked. "I mean, walking out on your mom and dad is a big step."</p><p>"Would you have let someone tell you that you couldn't date Shane when you fell in love with him?" Stephanie snapped.</p><p>Okay, that's me put in my place, Mandy thought. She had to admit that she didn't have a response to that. Of course she wouldn't have let anyone stop her seeing Shane. It wasn't fair for anyone to be treated like that.</p><p>"Alright, don't talk to her like that or I'll be sending you back home," Shane warned his sister as he pushed the front door closed.</p><p>"Sorry, Mandy. I'm just so worked up right now," Stephanie said. She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.</p><p>"It's okay. Go through to the living room and sit down. I'll get you something to drink while your brother gets dressed," Mandy said.</p><p>"Oh, right," Shane said, looking down at himself as he remembered that he was only wearing the swimming shorts. "I'll take your cases up, Steph." He didn't need to explain that he would put it in the first floor guest bedroom at the front of the house. She had stayed there before.</p><p>"Thanks," Stephanie said before trudging through to the living room. "I knew my dad would be like this," she grumbled. "He's full of the 'you're too good to date a wrestler' bullshit. Like wrestlers can't be kind, loving people. Hunter treats me so well, Mandy. Dad doesn't understand him at all."</p><p>He didn't exactly treat Chyna well, Mandy thought as the two women sat down on one of the couches. In her mind, cheating was the lowest thing someone could do, so she wouldn't be sending any sympathy his way. But she doubted that passing judgement was going to do anything to help the present situation.</p><p>"Some time away from your dad might be a good thing," she offered instead. "You can both cool off."</p><p>"I'm already cool," Stephanie said, although it blatantly wasn't true. "He's the one who needs to cool off, and stop being an asshole. I'm not going to stop seeing Hunter no matter what he says or does. I already walked out of home. I'll quit my job as well if I have to."</p><p>"What about Hunter? Will he quit his job?" Mandy asked.</p><p>The look on Stephanie's face told her that she hadn't thought about that. It also showed that she didn't know the answer to the question.</p><hr/><p>The next morning, Mandy found herself in the boardroom on the top floor of WWF Headquarters. It was the location for an impromptu McMahon family meeting, apart from Linda, who was not in the office. Mandy had the impression that she was leaving Vince to get on with the Stephanie/Hunter mess by himself. Maybe that meant Linda didn't have an objection to Stephanie seeing Hunter, Mandy wondered.</p><p>Vince was last to walk into the room. Mandy noticed that Stephanie didn't even look at him as he walked over to the table and took his usual seat at the head of it. Before he had a chance to speak, Shane got in first.</p><p>"I just want to say that Mandy and I aren't taking sides here. We're happy to give Steph somewhere to live while emotions are running high, but dad, Steph, the two of you and Hunter should be talking about this, not us. Frankly, we don't need the grief."</p><p>"Yes, I agree," Mandy said. "Honestly? I think you both need to think about how you're acting towards each other. Look at the body language in this room right now."</p><p>"Body language?" Vince said loudly. "My daughter walks out of our house over some wrestler, and you want to talk to me about body language?"</p><p>"Dad, stop. Don't raise your voice to Mandy, okay? Otherwise we're going to have a problem," Shane said firmly. "Calm down, and say what you wanted to say, preferably calmly."</p><p>Vince took a deep breath. "Alright. The reason I gathered us in here is to say that when we're here at the office, or at shows, we're working. This personal crap cannot have an effect on any of our performance."</p><p>"Fine. Are we done here?" Stephanie asked, starting to get up. She still hadn't looked at her dad once.</p><p>"No, we're not done here," Vince said heatedly. "I'm also going to be quite clear and firm in saying that not a word of this shit is to get out to the public. It would embarrass the McMahon family, and it would embarrass the WWF. Neither of those things are going to happen. Is that clear?"</p><p>"Yeah, it's clear," Stephanie said, getting up again. "Tell hell with your daughter's happiness, so long as no one thinks bad of the precious McMahon name, right? I'm going back to my desk. Leave me the hell alone." With that, she stormed out of the boardroom.</p><p>"That went well," Vince said gruffly. It seemed to Mandy that he expected her and Shane to side with him. He was going to be disappointed as far as she was concerned. Now more than ever, she was determined that they should not to take sides. If they did, it could tear the family apart.</p><p>"Dad, you won't get through to her like that," Shane advised him, his impatience clear.</p><p>"Meaning?" Vince demanded.</p><p>"Meaning she's a McMahon, like me, and like you. When have any of us ever responded positively to being ordered around or treated aggressively? Like it or not, you're going to have to sit down with Steph and Hunter and actually talk to them, which also means listening to what they have to say. She's serious, dad. If you get this wrong, she's not going to forgive you."</p><p>Vince considered that for a moment before looking at Mandy. "Do you see it that way too?"</p><p>Mandy didn't need to think about it. "Absolutely. And in my opinion, to be quite up front with you, it's not really your business who she dates. Let her make her own decisions and her own mistakes, if it is actually a mistake. That's how life works."</p><p>Vince didn't look pleased with the advice he was getting. "Can you guys leave me alone for a while?" he asked.</p><p>"Sure," Shane said.</p><p>Mandy didn't need to be asked twice. She was right behind her husband as he walked out of the boardroom.</p><p>"Do you think he's going to start listening to us?" she asked once they were out in the hallway with the door closed.</p><p>Shane shook his head. "I don't know, but he had better."</p>
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